Narrative of a Dwarf woman
by RavieChan
Summary: A dwarf-woman falls in love with Gimli, but he doesn't love her back
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Tolkien or his works and never will. Is that good enough? By the way, I'm using this disclaimer for the whole of my fic, so I won't say it again.   
  
Author's note: Thank you, all three of my reviewers! Me, Honesty, and Dis, I love you all (not like that!). Thanks for the help with the dwarf-names, Honesty. I went to a site and finally settled of one: Hlin. In Old Norse, it means "she that defends". Does it follow Tolkien's dwarvish name pattern? Thanks, Me, for the info on when dwarves marry (I didn't know that). If you find the part about the beard disturbing, sorry. I'm just trying ot keep it in canon. Anyways, please read and review. It helps me as an author. By the way, is this way out of canon?   
  
Hlin walked faster. The axe she carried over her shoulder was heavy. The name she had to non-dwarves meant "she that defends", but at that moment, she felt like "she that slowly follows". She was in a company of dwarves that was traveling to the Glittering Caves in Rohan. She had never seen anything past the Long Lake in her life. She did not know what tidings the journey would bring for her, but she marched onwards.   
  
From what she had heard of the Glittering Caves, they were fascinating. She imagined it in her mind: Walls of white, bedecked with jewels, glitter, and radiance, perhaps the one of the most beautiful caves in Middle-Earth. The thought made her desire to see it, so she adjusted her axe and walked more quickly. Her life... some parts of it she wished to remember.   
  
She was 107 years old, and remembered that she had lived in the Iron Hills. After the Battle of Five Armies, her family had moved to Erebor. There, for a time, they had lived happily. But then, the Battle of Dale struck, and she had hid within Erebor until the siege was over. After the Battle, she had felt a desire to go away from the Dwarvish Realms of the North and see or live in some other part of Middle-Earth. It wasn't because of the Battle, but because she wanted to see the world. When she heard that Gimli Elf-friend was to colonize a system of caves well to the south, she knew that it was her opportunity to fulfill her wish.   
  
Right now, she was dressed as a male. She was wearing a pale brown hood and a silver belt. Her beard was getting kind of itchy, she didn't normally have it more than three inches long. It was now about two feet long. They had been walking for almost two months and she was wondering where they were. She turned to the nearest dwarf and asked,"Where are we, exactly?"   
"We are within a day's journey of the River Anduin," a voice said. " within two, we will be within the land our destination lies in: Rohan. Then, I expect that it will be another month, at the maximum, traveling."   
  
She looked at the person. It was none other than Gimli Elf-Friend. She knew that she should have suspected it, for he was the dwarf who knew the area the best. "Thank you," she said. 


	2. Chapter 2

Thank all of you who reviewed. To Asilynn Crowdaughter: I got the idea from an earlier review. Plus, I didn't want to gross people out too badly. Sorry the last chapter was so short. I promise that this one will be longer. Well, here you go. This chapter takes place about a month after the last one. I am writing in book-verse, and in the books, what has become universally known as the Batle of Helm's Deep is called the Battle of the Hornburg. If it is shorter, tell me. This will probably be really bad. Note: I do not own Tolkien and probably never will.   
  
"We are but a league away from our destination," a voice thundered. Hlin looked up. There was a fortress looming near. "What is that, Lord Gimli?" she asked quietly, awestruck by how powerful the structure looked. "That is the Hornburg, the fortress of Rohan that guards Helm's Deep and the Glittering Caves. It is where the Battle of the Hornburg took place," Gimli replied. "Lord, I implore, what was the battle like?"  
"It was long and hopeless, but in the end, Rohan triumphed," Gimli said, remembering the event. "There were Uruk-Hai beyond count, and Rohan had but two thousand, at the beginning. Later, we might have had twice that amount," Gimli said. Hlin paused.  
"It must have been a terrible event."  
"Yes, terrible but great."  
  
The company of dwarves passed through the Great Gates and into the Hornburg. There were men there, some Gimli loosely knew, but being the secretive and stubborn race they were, the dwarves kept on going. They passed through the Rear-gate, and passed into Helm's Deep. They followed a stream that was about a fathom and a half across. As they got further upstream, the gorge got narrower.   
"We are close, no more than a furlong away," said Gimli.   
The gorge was now so narrow that the dwarves in the front had to walk in single file. Eventually, they came to the opening to the caves. The dwarves passed through the entrance. Hlin gasped.   
  
The Glittering Caves were exactly the way she pictured them, only even more beautiful. The trickles of endless drops of water and the echo of her footsteps on the sandy ground made the most beautiful, yet simple music she had ever heard. Countless gems glittered in the walls, and light seemed to glow through them. The walls were of every pale color she could imagine, twisted into works of art by nature itself. There were lakes sprawling out as far as she could see, mirroring all that she saw on the walls; it was an everlasting loveliness that Mahal himself could have fashioned just for his folk.   
Hlin touched the wall that was the nearest to her. It was smooth to the touch. Hlin suddenly took her hand away. It felt as if it was almost a sin to touch such a work of beauty. She looked up. The gems had weaved themselves to make a tapestry. It put her into a trance. For a moment, she thought she could see a picture , but when she blinked, it disappeared.  
  
"Lady?" a voice asked. Hlin jumped, startled. She was facing a dwarf she knew, named Bundin.  
"Yes?" she asked, trying to sound as if she had not been scared out of her wits.   
"Lord Gimli wishes to make a brief speech," Bundin replied. Hlin knew that this was a sign to be silent, so she turned to face the dwarf.   
  
"Fellow Dwarves, we have reached our destination. The journey was long and hard, but we managed to complete it to find our new home. Tonight, we shall find where we shall sleep and enjoy our first night in our new settlement. We shall go far into the caves, but not so far tonight. Sleep well under the glitter of Aglarond!"  
  
The dwarves heartily applauded what Gimli had said, and drank to the health and prosperity of the Glittering Caves. The roof looked as if it were on fire, the walls glowing with the lights of red and orange. Then the roof turned a rich dark color, with many jewels embedded in the domes and ceiling like the glittering stars.   
  
Hlin briskly walked into a small chamber, about one fathom wide, two fathoms long, and three fathoms tall. She found a small rock on one side of the room. It was too short for her, but she was too overtaken by the bliss and beauty of the caves to care. She fell asleep under the the spectacle of the ceiling of star-jewels. 


End file.
